Good Numbers in San Fransico’s Housing Market

With the end of December just days away, we are eagerly awaiting the results of this month’s housing numbers. Considering that in November the prices for homes in the San Francisco Bay area rose 10.6 percent, perhaps good news is on the way. According to MDA DataQuick of San Diego, Northern California demonstrated fewer foreclosures and increased activity in the more expensive neighborhoods, which is music to our haute little ears. DataQuick President John Walsh explained that the November stats exemplify the strength of the Bay Area housing market. “Financial distress is still a problem with many borrowers, but for now cheap foreclosures have lost their leading role in this housing drama. In the short run, we’ll be comparing the new data to some ridiculously low-median sale prices a year earlier—medians severely skewed back then by so many inland foreclosures selling, and so few coastal high-end sales.” The company went on to report that the median price paid for all homes in the Bay Area was $387,000 in November, a decrease of 0.8 percent from October, yet still an increase of $350,000 in November 2008. The L.A. Times reported that, “The Bay Area’s November median was 33.4 percent higher than its 2009 low point of $290,000 in March but is still 41.8 percent below its $665,000 peak reached in June and July of 2007. The number of sales in the Bay Area was the highest for a November in three years.”

Our New Year’s Toast on December 31 will be more good news in California real estate.